Greentown
by MadnessJones
Summary: PPG Movie AU: All it took was a few minutes to change the course of Townsville forever. The Powerpuff Girls fall in with the Gangreen Gang, Townsville is at the mercy of the vengeful rejected little girls, and Professor Utonium must rely on an unlikely ally; his mutated monkey Mojo Jojo. No pairings.
1. Lost

_Author's Notes: I am really excited to start this new PPG fic! While my first PPG story is a slow burn character study, this one is a more of a dramatic plot driven story. I already have several chapters mapped out, so hopefully I'll be able to keep this fic updated on a fairly regular basis, though given the sheer number of fanfics I have yet to complete I can't promise anything beyond I'll do my best. Oddly enough the hardest part for me is writing Mojo Jojo's dialogue in such a way that it is in-character without going overboard. Hopefully you will stick around to see where this story goes, and thank you for checking it out in the first place :)_

* * *

Chapter 1

Lost

The girls were only a few days old, yet this was without question the worst day of their lives. They had accidentally destroyed most of the town in a game of tag, they had to suffer ostracisation and humiliation at school even as the repair crews worked to fix the broken kindergarten building, the professor had left them waiting for him for hours at the school's park lot ultimately forcing them to walk home, and to top it all off the entire town hated them and it was raining. It felt like life couldn't get much worse for the chemically engineered little girls.

Blossom tried to lead her screaming and crying sisters through the rain without giving away how scared she was. They were all scared, but she didn't feel like she should show it. She wasn't scared that they were lost, but rather that this all might've been by design. The professor had claimed to love them and want them around, but at the same time he was the one who told them their powers were something bad. Maybe he had changed his mind and had never intended to come back.

Still, trying to go home seemed like the best solution. None of the girls knew what they were going to do when they got home, but they had to try. Even if the professor didn't love them anymore, maybe they could convince him to give them one more chance. All they had to do was never use their powers again and maybe the rest of the world would let them live in peace.

The rain was coming down harder, so they sought shelter in an alley. There were many boxes just lying around, so maybe they could dry off in one and wait out the storm before trying to go back home again. Blossom felt triumphant at having come up with a solution for their rain problem, Bubbles felt hopeful that they could make it home, and Buttercup just felt lost.

As they ran closer to the pile of boxes, lightning flashed and suddenly they were face to face with a little green monster with big eyes and big teeth!

"AAHH!" The girls screamed, having never seen such a thing before.

Just as they backed away, another green monster popped out of a dumpster and hissed at them. They screamed and headed in the opposite direction, only for a giant fat green monster to pop out of a pile of boxes and roar at them! They screamed and huddled closer together, and then noticed a truck that was parked behind the alley. The truck's door lifted open, and out jumped another tall green thug. This one had an especially sinister look, and the others seemed to gravitate toward him like the students to Ms. Keane. The girls were terrified and sopping wet as they looked up at the grinning visage of the dangerous looking gangster.

"Aww, whatsa matter? Did somebody get _wost_?" The leader of the gang cooed mockingly at the girls, followed by the collective cackling of the disheveled green demons.

The girls backed up defensively, not understanding everything that could happen but the fear in their hearts overtaking them anyway. They turned toward the three larger gangsters, then turned toward the boxes where the little one still stood there laughing, and then looked toward the way they came. They thought they could backtrack, but that idea was thrown out when another green monster leapt down at them. This one was the ugliest of all, with a long tongue, bulging bloodshot eyes, a hunched back, tattered clothes, messed up teeth, and lanky arms ready to grab them.

"Please, leave us alone!" Blossom called out to the leader of the gang; knowing he could stop the others.

"We just wanna go home!" Bubbles sobbed as she hid behind Blossom.

"Yeah, we're sorry already, okay? We can't help it that we're freaks!" Buttercup shouted defensively.

The hunchbacked teen grabbed at Bubbles, who tried in vain to pull away. He opened his mouth and tried to shove Bubbles in, but she held onto the outside of his mouth with her arms and legs to keep herself from getting eaten or whatever he was planning to do.

" _Bubbles_!" The other two girls shouted in unison.

Suddenly there was a shrill whistle, and the hunchback put Bubbles back down next to her sisters. They hugged her in relief, and then looked back up at the sunglasses wearing gang leader that had called off the attack.

"You think _you're_ freaks?" The gangster scoffed at the little girls, "Yous think you're special? Hah! That's rich. You don't know what bein' a real freak is all about. You're nothin' like us."

"Well, they do have really big eyesss. That'sss kind of freaky," The reptilian gangster pointed out, which earned him a punch to the nose from his leader.

The girls flinched, not used to seeing violence up close and now worried the gang leader would turn his anger toward them.

"Please sir, we have to get home," Blossom pleaded with the gang, "Our father was supposed to pick us up from school, but he never came. We're lost. Can you help us?"

"Oh get real, Blossom!" Buttercup suddenly shouted in frustration, "The professor doesn't _want_ us to come back! That's why he left us! This is because of all that stuff we broke, and because he didn't want freaks for daughters! We might as well just curl up in the garbage, because _he_ _threw us away_!"

"Hm...abandoned by society, eh?" The leader mused as he looked over the tiny well dressed little girls, "I never would've pegged you for the type. Oh well. Boys, we're going home. Move it!"

"We're just letting themsss go?" The reptilian asked uncomprehendingly, "But they might have moneysss."

"Those little pipsqueaks? Doubtful," The leader scoffed before turning his back on the girls.

The rest of the gang followed their leader out of the alleyway, leaving the girls behind in the alley with the boxes and the open truck. They breathed a sigh of relief at being spared a horrible fate, but now realized they were still cold, wet, hungry, and lost. They looked at each other, looked at the truck, and looked back at the retreating forms of the green gangsters. Nodding at one another in understanding, they ran after the gang.

"Hey Ace," Lil' Arturo hollered up at his leader, "Those chicas are following us. What should we do?"

"Pfft!" Grubber suggested.

"I already told you _no_ ," Ace reprimanded Grubber, "Besides, I'm sure that much sweetness is bad for your health. If they get too close just kick some puddle water on them. That'll make 'em leave."

The gang continued to ignore the three soaking wet little girls, but the girls refused to stop following them. After a few seconds Billy noticed they were still there and stopped walking and turned around to look down at them.

The girls noticed that the large man's attention was on them now, and they started rethinking whether or not this had been a good idea. He bent down, and they backed away apprehensively. The others noticed Big Billy wasn't with them, so Ace went back with the gang in tow and glared at his dumb muscle.

"And just what do you think _you're_ doin'?" Ace asked Billy accusingly.

"Dah, I was lookin' at the pretty little girls," Billy replied with a dopey smile, "I wanna keep 'em!"

"Billy that's stupid," Ace shot down the request, "We ain't lettin' no little girls in the Gangreen Gang, even if they are bug-eyed freaks."

"Um, sir?" Blossom piped up despite her fear of the gang leader, "We don't have anywhere else to go. Nobody wants us. Can we stay with you?"

"Please?" Bubbles added for good measure.

"No," Ace replied pitilessly, "You're lucky we didn't pound yous into the concrete back there, and now you're pushin' your luck by botherin' us? What's wrong with yous?"

"We told you, we need a place to stay!" Buttercup shouted; nearing her breaking point after the crappy day she'd had.

"We're good girls, really!" Bubbles proclaimed, knowing that was a hard argument to make in lieu of the damage they caused.

"Good girls, eh?" Ace asked with a sly smirk, "Good girls don't end up here. This is Townsville, ladies. Townsville's buttcrack to be more precise. If you're here, then it's because there's somethin' wrong with yous. We'll let yous flop with us for one night, but then you're gone. Got it?"

"Got it," Blossom quickly agreed before he changed his mind.

"Good," Ace nodded in satisfaction despite completely caving into their request, "By the way, I'm Ace. That's Big Billy. The short guy is Lil' Arturo. The ugly guy is Grubber, and the scaly guy is Snake. Don't forget it because I ain't repeatin' myself."

The girls nodded readily and then continued to follow the Gangreen Gang through the rain-soaked decimated streets of Townsville.

After a few minutes Bubbles got tired of walking, but she knew she wasn't allowed to fly anymore, so she collapsed and fell behind the group. Big Billy was the first to notice she was lying on the ground unable to get up, so he went over and picked her up; carrying her the rest of the way.

* * *

A few blocks away on the roof of a building near the alley of boxes stood a shadowy figure glaring at the roadway ahead of him. Jojo stood there in the rain, a bag over his exposed freakishly large brain and a ratty coat and scarf for warmth. He saw his last chance to get revenge on the world walking away with a group of green hoodlums, and he growled low from deep within his wretched soul.

Lightning struck, and if anyone had been around they would have seen that this mysterious figure of the night was no homeless man or vigilante but was in fact a mutated green and black chimpanzee.

Yes, Jojo, former assistant of Professor Utonium and victim of an explosion involving Chemical X. Jojo, an ape that had until that moment been like any other chimp until he had screwed up the professor's perfect little girl formula and aided in the creation of the chemically enhanced super strong little girls that had just run off with the Gangreen Gang. Jojo, hater of mankind and freak of nature.

"How am I to complete my plans without the aid of the girls?" Jojo asked himself in frustration, "How is it that I am to rule the world and take complete control of it if I am unable to procure the super powered super girls and use their mighty abilities to my own nefarious ends? How am I to free my monkey and ape brethren if I am but a mere super genius simian with no super powers and no lair? I must think of a new plan."

Jojo returned to the cardboard box he had been living in for the past few days. After he left the professor's lab he had at first wandered in a daze, lost and confused as to what to do with himself now that the professor no longer seemed to need him. It didn't take long for him to find himself at the Townsville Zoo and to see for himself the apes and monkeys that were being exploited for the amusement of man.

Jojo had always known that humans could be cruel. He knew that apes were captured and killed, but he never understood the reason until he saw that zoo. He barely remembered the rain forests where he had lived in his infancy. He didn't remember much, but he would never forget the day poachers killed his mother and took him away from his troupe. He remembered being cold, scared, and hungry. Much like he was right now in this rain-soaked box.

Jojo hated humanity for what it did to his fellow primates. His plan was a complex one, yet achievable if he had the right materials. He wanted to turn all the monkeys and apes at the zoo into super intelligent simians and then use their combined intellect to take over Townsville, and eventually the world. Then he would be king over a perfect world where man served ape.

When he thought about those humans gawking at those poor defenseless monkeys it made his blood boil.

"Stupid humans," Jojo muttered to himself as he watched the rain fall down onto the garbage littering the allwayway, "They capture monkeys for exhibits, and they kill apes for their body parts and their infants. When I think of it I shudder. It could have easily been me behind those iron bars getting peanut shells thrown at me by imbecilic children. It could have been me murdered for my hands to be turned into ashtrays. It could have been me-..."

Then Jojo suddenly stopped speaking as his mind finally caught up with what his mouth had been saying. His anger suddenly turned to sadness as he realized something he had overlooked in his tirade against the human race.

"It could have been me...if it weren't for the professor," Jojo whispered as he hugged his knees against his chest and shivered in the cold, "The professor rescued me from that horrible market. The professor raised me in his own home, as his own lab assistant. The professor is...is...the closest thing I have to a father. How could he abandon me for those horrible girls? They betrayed him! They left him for a group of criminals. _Why_? Why did he stop paying attention to me to make those awful girls? Does he even know I am gone?"

The more intelligent side of Jojo was in that moment overshadowed by the young ape that just wanted to go home to his father. He hated humans, that much was true, but did he truly hate the professor? Jojo wondered if the professor would apologize to him if given the chance.

"Maybe he'll like me better now that I'm toilet trained," Jojo briefly pondered.

For a few minutes Jojo just sat there in the cold wet box and pitied himself for not being loved by his father figure anymore. His plans for world domination were still in the back of his brilliant mind, but they were being pushed aside for the moment as Jojo tried to solve the puzzle of how to handle his former family.

"Wait!" Jojo suddenly realized, "The girls have superpowers! If that gang of teenage thugs harnesses such power, then they could take over Townsville and the world! The professor would be killed by those vengeful little harpies. I must do something, and I must do it now! But how? The only place with decent technology is...the lab! I must go back home to find what I need in the professor's laboratory. There, I will use what I have procured to fashion a device to destroy the girls, and by destroying the girls I will be the only one left for the professor to pay attention to, and then he will help me take over the world! _Mwahahahahaha_!"

Jojo might have had augmented brain power, but at this point in his life he was still young, and his plan was less than sound. Still, he had a plan, and it started with going back to the lab to gather supplies and perhaps even tricking the professor into helping him destroy the girls. Yes, Jojo thought, this could work.


	2. Found

_Author's Notes: Hi everybody. Sorry I took so long to get to this update. I was afraid it might take some time, but on the bright side at least I'm able to give you a long chapter :)_

* * *

Chapter 2

Found

The walk to where the Gangreen Gang lived took hours. It wouldn't have taken nearly as long, but the roads and many buildings were totaled. The gang complained the whole way home, but fortunately for the girls they didn't watch the news or read current papers, so they had no idea that the culprits were the very girls they were leading to their home.

"Yeesh! Somebody did a number on this town," Ace remarked sourly as they climbed another crumpled access road.

"Dah, was it us?" Big Billy asked in confusion.

"No it wasn't us! Geez Billy, it feels like you're gettin' stupider by the day!" Ace snapped before he held out his hand to help the girls jump over a road block.

"ACHOO!" Buttercup sneezed loudly, causing the gang to freeze just in case some citizen looked out their window and saw them, "Sorry. I think the rain is giving me a cold."

"Eh, you get used to it," Ace replied dismissively before the gang continued on their way.

Blossom stayed close to Buttercup since no one else seemed willing to help her. She wondered if they had made the right decision following this group of scary strangers to their home. If something happened to them no one would ever know, and she was certain that no one would miss them if it did. Buttercup kept up despite how poorly she was feeling. The professor hated them, the school hated them, and the entire town hated them. She wasn't about to give these guys a reason to hate them.

"In here," Ace announced as he pointed a thumb at an open gate.

The girls followed the gang inside and instantly recoiled from the horrible stench of wet garbage. The sign read CITY DUMP, and it seemed like nothing could actually live there, yet the gang continued to walk inside. Bubbles, who was still being carried by Big Billy, felt like she was going to pass out from the horrible smell.

"What is this dump?" Buttercup asked in disgust.

"Exactly," Ace replied with a smirk, "Dis is the Gangreen Gang's secret hideout. No one knows we live here, and we're sharin' this secret with yous. You should feel honored, by the way."

"Oh, um, we do. We do," Blossom quickly told him to avoid offending him, "So, um, where do we sleep?"

"Good question," Ace replied as he touched a hand to his chin.

"We could get them some garbage bags," Arturo suggested, "When they're really full they make good bean bag chairs."

"I don't wanna sleep on garbage!" Bubbles cried miserably.

"Look around, Bubbles. _Everything_ is garbage!" Buttercup shouted impatiently.

"Alright alright, we'll handle it," Ace assured her, "Geez, does she always sound that shrill when she cries? 'Cause I'm startin' to think maybe Grubber should've eaten her."

That only made Bubbles cry even louder, and Big Billy started patting her head to calm her down.

"Daw, it's alright little blonde girl," Billy said soothingly as he rocked her back and forth, "The garbage is fun. You'll like being here with the Gangreen Gang. It's fun."

"Pfft!" Grubber blew a raspberry as he pointed to an old jalopy.

"Good idea, Grubber," Ace replied approvingly, "Yo Big Billy, put the kid down and go grab the back seat outta that car."

"Dah, okay boss," Big Billy replied compliantly.

He set Bubbles down with her sisters, and they both hugged her once she was safely on the ground. Billy then stomped over to the rusted out heap of a car and tugged on the bench seat in the back until it snapped off the car. He held it over his head and looked back at the gang for further instructions.

"Put it in the den," Ace ordered.

Billy then went inside the clubhouse with the car seat and dropped it in the middle of the floor. He scooted it over to a wall that had some space. The gang and the girls went inside to see the results and came in just in time to see Big Billy laying a ratty moth-eaten green blanket over the car seat.

"Tada! Instant guest bed," Ace proclaimed as he gestured to the car seat.

"Um, thanks guys," Blossom replied awkwardly; not liking the bed but not wanting to complain, "This really means a lot."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Ace waved away her words of praise, "We're gonna play cards. You girls go to sleep, and try not to snore. It ruins my concentration."

"Um, okay. Goodnight guys," Blossom called out uncertainty.

"Goodnights, girlsss," Snake called after them.

"Pfft!" Grubber added.

"Don't let the cockroaches bite," Arturo teased playfully.

"Goodnight little girls," Big Billy smiled placidly and waved at them before joining the card game.

The girls waved back weakly before going over to inspect the bed. Blossom climbed in first, with the others joining her after. The blanket was small, thin, and was full of holes and stains from who-knows-where. Still, it was better than nothing, so the girls wrapped themselves tight in the worn piece of cloth and tried to ignore the sounds of shouting and laughter from the gang.

They didn't know what they were going to do the next day, especially since the gang was likely going to kick them out, so sleep came with great difficulty for the stressed and scared little girls.

* * *

Jojo entered the Utonium house and looked around for any sign of the professor or the girls. The door had been left open, so that indicated the professor might have been taken against his will. Of course those ungrateful brats had not returned to check on the well being of their creator, even though flying to the house would have taken all of two minutes. Jojo snorted in disgust at such disrespect.

He went down to the lab and felt a pang of sadness inside his simian heart. He had only been in this room a few days ago, but it felt like a lifetime. When last he entered the lab he was a primitive juvenile ape in a diaper, and now he was a super genius ape wearing clothes he dug out of the trash and a paper bag to shield his exposed brain from the elements. He had never felt so alone as he did in that moment.

"What to do first?" Jojo pondered out loud as he looked around at the chemicals and the computers.

He decided that work on his master plan must come first, so he began to gather the materials he would need to transform the primates of Townsville into super geniuses just like him. He ripped apart machines and used the parts to make containers for the chemical X fusion generator. Most of the floor was taken up with his machine and the leftovers of his work. He set aside chemical X as well so that it would be ready when he was.

Jojo took a break after several hours and went upstairs. The sun was shining now, so it was obviously morning. The professor still wasn't back. That was strange, and Jojo wondered if something horrible happened to his surrogate father. He shook the thought away. It didn't matter, since he did not yet have the power or ability to locate the professor, so his time was best spent in the lab.

He went back down and started sanding down rough edges on his machine and connecting wires. He was so engrossed in his plans that he neither ate nor slept. He might not be able to find the professor or manipulate the girls, but he could still make the world a better place for simians everywhere with his brilliant new machine.

After morning turned to evening however, Jojo realized that he was indeed hungry. He finally stopped working on the chemical X transfusion device and went into the kitchen to get something to eat.

He didn't know what he wanted, so he found a cookbook the professor kept on the kitchen counter. Jojo always liked the professor's cooking, so he was sure he'd be able to make something good by following the same instruction manual as the professor. He settled on the section entitled 'The Perfect Breakfast' and read about how to prepare eggs and sausage.

"Hm, according to this, the perfect breakfast requires exactly two eggs," Jojo read off as he searched the fridge for the necessary ingredients, "Alright then, the pan must be greased with either cooking oil, butter, or margarine. Hm...ah, here is the cooking oil."

Jojo made a royal mess of the kitchen as he prepared his meal. Random food was scattered all over the place, he spilled several spices onto the floor and counter, and he spilled orange juice into the sink when he reached for the milk. Overall it was quite an ordeal, but it was worth it when he finally had a beautiful looking plate of scrambled eggs, sausage, and hash browns.

He ate quickly and then was about to leave the kitchen when he realized that he had left the place a complete mess.

"It does not matter," Jojo reasoned with himself, "The professor is not here. Then again, if he were to return to his place of residence only to find that his home has been soiled by the preparation of my dinner he might become upset. Hm, perhaps I should at least do the dishes before returning to my work."

Sighing at the prospect of such a tedious task, Jojo set about cleaning up his home. Despite running away part of him still thought of this house as _his_ home, and right now the place felt empty and cavernous. He just hoped the professor was alive and well...wherever he was.

* * *

The next morning Buttercup was tossing and turning in her sleep having a nightmare about the town coming after them with torches and pitchforks. In her dream the professor was leading the charge to run them out of town and send them into a deep dark hole forever. Buttercup felt the hands of the townspeople grabbing for her, and she bolted awake screaming!

"Buttercup, calm down! It's just us!" Blossom exclaimed as she held onto her sister's arms.

Buttercup looked around at where they were. It was the Gangreen Gang's tiny clubhouse that was located in the heart of the City Dump. They were still on the car seat where the gang had left them, and everything smelled rotten and old.

"I think I liked the dream better," Buttercup groused with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Keep it down," Blossom hissed, "The guys are still asleep. We don't want them waking up angry at us."

"Hey girls, I just remembered something," Bubbles whimpered, "I left Octi at the professor's house."

"Who?" Buttercup asked.

"Octi. My stuffed octopus," Bubbles sniffed as she curled further into herself, "I want my Octi back. I want my old life back. I want the professor! Waaaah!"

"Shh!" Blossom and Buttercup both shushed Bubbles, but it was too late as the gang started to wake up.

"Ow, my head..." Ace moaned as he rubbed his temples, "Oh man, I think I had too many beers last night..."

"No kiddings Acce," Snake replied as he slowly slunk upright, "Remember thossse?" He asked as he pointed to the girls.

"Ah, crap," Ace muttered as he remembered bringing the little girls back with them, "Alright ladies, fun time's over. Get out of our dump, now!"

Bubbles was still crying and it was making Ace's hangover worse. He still didn't understand why he brought a group of little girls back with them. To be fair though, he didn't really remember much of anything after robbing Malph's and downing a few cans of store brand beer and a half a bottle of gin.

"Um, Ace, sir?" Blossom spoke up for the group, "We don't have anywhere else to go. Can we join your gang?"

" _Octi_!" Bubbles continued to cry.

"Bubbles! _Shut up_!" Buttercup screamed at her crying sibling.

"You three crybabies wanna join the Gangreen Gang?" Ace laughed, "You're kiddin' right? Do you have _any idea_ who we are?"

"Um...no," Blossom admitted.

"We're the toughest group of hoods in this whole stinkin' city!" Ace declared proudly, "We practically own this town. We take what we want, mess with whoever we want, and do whatever we want. Our lives are full of turf wars, binges, and fights the likes of which you've never seen. You girls ain't ready for that, even if we were lookin' for new members, which we ain't!"

"Hey boss?" Big Billy yawned as he sat up from his spot sleeping on the bare floor, "My head hurts. We got anymore tomato juice?"

"Yeah, we could all probably use some of that," Ace replied as he slowly made his way to a crate they were using for a pantry, "Hey Billy, throw those girls out, would ya?"

"No, wait!" Buttercup interjected, "You say we're not good enough, but I say we are! What do we have to do to join the gang, huh? Just give us a chance and you'll see, we can do it. We'll be perfect!"

"You're serious, eh?" Ace replied with an amused smile, "Well, I like your spunk kid, so I tell you what. I'll give you the exact same test I gave the boys, and if you and your pretty little sisters can handle it, then I'll let you in."

"Uh, am I still supposed to throw them out?" Big Billy asked in befuddlement.

"No Billy, they're gonna go through our initiation," Ace replied conspiratorially, "Snake, get the camera."

Snake left the clubhouse, and the girls looked at each other wondering what in the world they had gotten themselves into. Who knew what kind of sick twisted hazing ritual the Gangreen Gang went through? Blossom was starting to get nervous, and Bubbles was downright scared. Buttercup looked tough on the outside, but inside she was also afraid they would fail and be forced out onto the cold unforgiving streets of Townsville with nothing but each other.

Snake returned with a small silver camera in his hand. It was just then that Lil' Arturo and Grubber woke up and saw what Snake was carrying.

"Hey Ace, we got new members coming in?" Arturo asked as he eyed the camera.

"Sort of," Ace replied easily, "The powderpuffs over here think they're tough enough to get into the gang. Since I'm such a fair guy I decided to give 'em the test."

"Oh cool!" Arturo bounced up excitedly, "Hey chicas, you wanna see the photos from my initiation? I keep it in my wallet."

"Yesss, Arturo iss the sssentimental type," Snake chuckled.

Arturo then pulled out his wallet and held up the pictures for the girls to see. Much to their shock it was a series of pictures of a slightly younger Arturo punching a man in a blue uniform, beating him with a large bag, and then finally standing over the man's unconscious form.

"Oh my gosh! You beat up a _Boy Scout_?" Bubbles asked in horror.

"Tch, puh-lease, that's no Boy Scout. That's a mailman," Arturo scoffed at her naivety, "If I remember correctly he had to get stitches. Big Billy's victim had to drink his food through a straw, and Snake's victim muttered about evil reptiles all the way home. It was hilarious! Grubber was first, so I don't know who he beat up."

"Pfft Pfft Bbtt!" Grubber told the story, though the girls didn't understand what he said.

"Oh yeah? Cool," Arturo replied to Grubber, but the girls were totally lost.

"You mean we have to beat someone up to get into the gang?" Blossom asked dubiously.

"Yep," Ace replied nonchalantly.

"Who did you beat up, Ace?" Blossom asked out of morbid curiosity.

"My dad," Ace replied shamelessly, "I also beat up Grubber the first time I met him. And Snake. So, you up for the challenge, or do you wanna go home cryin' to your mommy?"

"We don't have a mommy," Bubbles replied; missing the point.

"Look kids, it's real simple," Ace explained as he took the camera from Snake and handed it to Buttercup, "You find someone on the street, it don't matter who, and you beat 'em up. You take pictures with this camera so you can show me you did the job right. Since you're little kids I'll let you all beat up the same victim, but I wouldn't do that for just anyone. No matter the results I want that camera back, by the way. If you succeed, then you become official members of the Gangreen Gang. If you fail, then you are forbidden to ever come near us again on penalty of a beat down. Got that?"

"Got it," Blossom replied apprehensively.

"Good, now get out," Ace ordered as he pointed to the door, "Make me proud, powderpuffs."

The girls ran out of the hideout with the camera and left the dump through the gate. They stopped at a crosswalk and looked at all of the people walking and driving around the part of Townsville that had been spared the carnage from their game of tag two days prior.

"We really have to hurt somebody?" Bubbles asked in despair.

"You wanna have a family again, don't you?" Buttercup retorted, "Well, this is what we gotta do. Besides, Townsville hates us. What do we care if one of them gets a bloody nose?"

"As much as I hate this, Buttercup has a point," Blossom said ruefully, "The Gangreen Gang might not be the warm loving family we thought we'd have living with the professor, but at least they haven't lied to us or treated us like monsters just for being alive. The professor only loved us when things were easy. He wanted perfect little girls, he said so himself, and we're not perfect. We were a mistake. The gang at least doesn't know about our powers, so they won't reject us."

"Oh, crud!" Buttercup suddenly exclaimed, "How are we supposed to beat somebody up without our powers? If the guys catch wind of our superpowers they'll hate us! We'll be back on the streets fighting with dogs over scraps and getting chased by angry mobs and have to go back to that stupid school full of kids who want us dead! What do we do, Blossom? What's the plan?"

"Well, it's not a video camera, so we could just..." Blossom hated this idea, but it was the only one she had, "We could...beat up the...person with our powers, but then take a picture that makes it look like we didn't use our powers. That could work, right?"

"I don't wanna beat anybody up!" Bubbles complained, "We're good little girls. I don't wanna be bad."

"Newsflash Bubbles, being good little girls got us abandoned by the professor, and being bad is going to get us a new family," Buttercup replied harshly, "Remember when you got tired in the rain and couldn't walk anymore? Was it the professor who helped you and kept you dry under his arm? Huh? Was it?"

"No," Bubbles admitted shamefully, "It was Big Billy."

"And who let us stay in their house when we were soaked to the bone?" Buttercup continued, "Was _that_ the professor?"

"No, it was the gang," Bubbles replied defeatedly, "Fine, I'll do it, but only once."

Their inner resolves rising, the girls looked around to find a suitable target. They saw a mother tending her baby, and gave each other an apprehensive look. Obviously none of them wanted that to be their victim. They saw a man buying a hot dog. They looked at each other again and considered it, but none of them were willing to make the first move.

"This is harder than I thought," Blossom commented after a few minutes, "How are we supposed to do this if everybody is so...innocent?"

"Innocent? Bah!" Buttercup scoffed, "These are the people that want us dead and gone! They hate us, and they just want us to go away!"

Just then, an alarm rang out at the bank and a man wearing a ski mask and a black outfit ran out carrying two large burlap sacks and waving a gun. He ran close to where the girls were to get to his getaway car, and the girls watched him attentively.

"He's fast," Bubbles remarked.

"Yeah, like a challenge," Buttercup replied with a sinister grin.

"So, him?" Blossom asked for clarification.

"Him," The other two girls confirmed in unison.

With a nod to each other, they used their super speed to catch up to the bank robber's car. They were too young at this point to realize they were going after a criminal, and it probably wouldn't have mattered to the desperate girls at this point anyway. The Gangreen Gang wanted fighters, and therefore the girls would become fighters. Anything to avoid being cast aside.

Buttercup grabbed onto the back bumper of the car and stopped it even as it continued to try to speed away. The robber didn't know why he had stopped, so he looked behind him, but didn't see the problem. Blossom and Bubbles ran up to the car door and ripped it off the car with ease. The robber gasped when he saw the tiny menaces that had destroyed so much of the city with their freaky powers, and he saw the way they were looking at him.

"Hey, hey, come on girls, let's talk about this!" The robber pleaded, "Hey, you like nice things, right? Why don't you take some of this nice money and get yourselves some candy or little dollies or something, huh?"

"He talks too much," Blossom commented coldly.

"Let's just hurry up. I don't like this," Bubbles whispered as she held onto Blossom's arm for assurance.

Without further warning Blossom grabbed the robber and punched him hard in the gut. She then twirled him around over her head and slammed him against his car. She passed him to Bubbles, who then smacked him against a store's brick wall. Buttercup peeled him off and punched him a few more times before letting him fall to the ground groaning, bloody, and bruised.

"Buttercup, the camera!" Blossom ordered.

Buttercup then grabbed the camera and set the timer. She placed it on the car roof and went to stand next to her sisters, who were standing next to their victim. They got their picture, but before they left Bubbles decided they should get a souvenir for their new leader Ace. The others agreed, and they settled on taking a little bit of the money out of the bag. After all, the robber _did_ say it could buy things. Maybe it could also buy their way into the gang.

* * *

Jojo heard a commotion coming from upstairs. He bounded out of the laboratory and peered around the corner to see what had happened. He couldn't believe his eyes when he took in the scene before him. It was the professor, handcuffs behind his back and his body roughed up. Jojo didn't know exactly what happened, but it had obviously been bad. Stupid humans...

"Girls! Girls, where are you? Are you okay?" The professor was calling out for his girls in near panic, and that was enough to make Jojo's blood boil. How _dare_ those little monsters attempt to replace him?

"They are not here, Professor," Jojo said in an eerily calm tone of voice as he stepped into the room to face his so-called _owner_.

"Wha-! Who are you? _What_ are you?" The professor asked fearfully as he backed away and sat against the wall.

"Relax, Professor. It is I, Jojo, your former lab assistant," Jojo reintroduced himself, "As you can see, your girls are not here. I saw them in town with a group of hoodlums. It gives me no pleasure to say this Professor, but they have abandoned you and left you to rot. You will receive no further love or help from them. They require your parental care no longer, and will likely use their powers for evil. I am sorry, Professor. It is with deepest regrets that I inform you of your creations' cruel abandonment of you."

The professor couldn't believe what was happening. The past few days felt like some sort of surreal dream. He had finally created the perfect little girls he always wanted, but it turned out they had super powers and were adept at causing destruction. His pet chimp was now green and could talk. His girls were gone, likely off to a life of crime.

"This town is _insane_ ," The professor whispered morosely, "Everything stinks here. Crime is everywhere, the citizens are forming angry mobs, I was arrested merely for creating three little girls, and now my precious creations are out there somewhere, falling into the same pit of corruption most of this town's youth falls into. Oh Jojo, what am I going to do?"

"We must prepare," Jojo replied simply.

"Prepare? Prepare for what?" The professor asked nervously.

"We must prepare for the girls' next move," Jojo explained ominously, "Are you familiar with a gang of green skinned thugs that lurk around Townsville?"

"The Gangreen Gang?" The professor replied softly as the implications sank in, "They actually robbed me a few nights ago...the night I made the girls. I guess I was lucky to get away with only getting punched once, but boy did it hurt! Wait, you mean the girls are with those evil men? Jojo, those guys are the most notorious gang in Townsville! If the girls join them..."

"Then Townsville will be even more doomed than it already was," Jojo finished the professor's unspoken thought.

"How do we get the girls back?" The professor asked desperately.

"I do not know if they will return to you," Jojo replied gravely, "However, I do know that your original goal was to find a way to combat the injustice in the world. You wanted to do your best to be a good person in the hopes that your kindness would rub off on others. You rescued me from the black market, you dedicated your life to science, and you attempted to create three morally righteous little girls to make the world a better place. You can still fight injustice, professor. However, I feel we will need to take a more proactive approach."

"How do we do that?" The professor asked.

"By joining forces," Jojo replied; his stance energetic and eager for the challenge, "Together we can save those who are truly oppressed. I am in the process of inventing a device that can help save the underclass of Townsville. Join me Professor, and we can be heroes!"

"Will this invention save my daughters?" The professor asked; a slight skepticism seeping into his tone.

"Trust me, Professor. I have always had your best interests at heart," Jojo replied with a grin that he hoped didn't give away his deceptive intentions, "Help me, and we can be a family again and save Townsville."

"Well...if it'll get the girls back, then I guess I'll help you," The professor replied, "Can you get these handcuffs off me now? I think I keep a lock pick in my junk drawer downstairs."

"Of course Professor, I'll be right back," Jojo said with a smile as he turned away and walked toward the lab.

He couldn't believe how easy this was. The professor didn't even question why his former beloved pet chimp could suddenly talk, and he had no problem trusting said chimp completely. Jojo wanted to laugh at his adoptive father's stupidity, but the anger inside him wouldn't allow it. Even now, when the girls had abandoned the professor and Jojo stayed behind, it was the girls that occupied the professor's thoughts and concerns.

Jojo seethed with rage as he grabbed the lock pick and slowly made his way back up to the living room. If he could just hold out until they had finished the invention, then every monkey and ape in Townsville would be as intelligent as he was, and then the human race would bow before his might or die. Then he would force the professor to acknowledge his superiority before ending his life. Yes, revenge would be sweet indeed. Jojo just had to bide his time...

* * *

The girls flew most of the way back to the Gangreen Gang's hideout, but then landed a couple blocks away and walked the rest of the distance. They didn't want the gang to find out about their powers, because they were sure the guys would hate their powers as much as the professor and the town did.

When they returned they saw Big Billy lying flat on his back while Grubber, Arturo, and Snake jumped up and down on his gut like he was a trampoline. Ace stood off to the side and watched; his sunglasses hiding whatever facial expression he had.

"Hey guys!" Buttercup called out eagerly to the gang and waved the camera in the air, "We're back, and we got the photo you wanted!"

The bouncers got off Big Billy and Big Billy got up so they could walk over to the girls. Ace followed suit, though at a slower pace. Blossom could see that the teens looked incredulous, and she wondered why it was so hard to believe they could succeed when three of them ganged up on one person.

"So, you got the pic?" Ace asked almost mockingly, "Let me guess, you convinced some poor sap to pretend to get knocked out for yous? Oh, or maybe you just took a picture of a homeless bum. Yeah, real cute powderpuffs, but that don't work here."

"But...but...we really did beat a guy up!" Bubbles whimpered defensively.

"Yeah, and we can prove it!" Buttercup snapped as she thrust the camera in Ace's face, "Look at that and tell me we're lying!"

Ace looked down at the camera's digital display, and was shocked to see a bloodied and beaten bank robber with three proud little girls standing in front of him.

"And in case that ain't enough," Buttercup added smugly, "Here's something else."

Bubbles then handed Ace a wad of cash they had taken off the bank robber, and the guys' eyes lit up at the sight of all that dough. Ace whistled approvingly at their gift, as well as at the photo they took of their victory.

"Okay, I gotta admit, this is pretty impressive," Ace told them appraisingly, "That bein' said, one thing still bugs me. Yous three are what, five years old? Six?"

"We were born last week," Bubbles replied helpfully.

"Um, technically we're 4 days old," Blossom supplemented.

Ace raised an eyebrow at this, assuming the little girls were just exaggerating as kids their age so often do.

"Yeah, anyway, I just can't help but wonder how yous three managed to beat up a grown man with a gun and a fast car," Ace pondered, "Very strange..."

The three girls all looked at each other nervously. They knew then, they had been caught. The Gangreen Gang would soon find out about their powers and then they'd be in real trouble. Blossom, not knowing what else to do, decided to face their turmoil head-on.

"Um, actually Ace...there's something we need to confess," Blossom said sheepishly; unable to even look the other gangsters in the eye.

"Yeah, I thought as much," Ace replied knowingly, "Yous three faked this, didn't ya?"

"No sir," Blossom replied mournfully; sure their chance at another family unit was blowing away in the wind, "You see..."

The girls then floated up in the air, and all five gang members looked up at them with wide stunned eyes.

"We're freaks," Blossom finished saying after their little demonstration.

The girls landed, and four of the guys took a step away from them in shock, but Ace just stood there looking down at the little mutants.

"We know we should never use our powers," Blossom said solemnly, "But it was the only way we could do what you wanted."

"Yeah, and if you let us stay we'll never use our powers again," Buttercup added for good measure.

"Please don't kick us out," Bubbles sniffed as she hugged herself miserably.

"We're sorry!" All three girls shouted in unison.

The other Gangreen gangsters finally grew curious enough to step closer to the girls and stare at them. The girls were sure this was the calm before the storm that would lead to them being chased out of the junkyard. They waited for the final word that would force them away from their new lives, but much to their surprise Ace knelt down and put a hand on both Blossom's and Buttercup's shoulders.

"Girls," Ace addressed them as a smile crept up his face, "I am so proud of you."

"You...you _are_?" Buttercup ventured to ask.

"Yep. You powderpuffs are gonna make us the richest and most powerful gang in all of Townsville," Ace replied encouragingly; already picturing the mayhem such power could cause, "Blossom, Buttercup, and Bubbles. Welcome to the Gangreen Gang."


	3. Spree

_Author's Notes: I can't believe it's been five months since my last update for this fic. I am so sorry about that, but now here's another chapter! This one didn't turn out exactly the way I wanted, but it's still got drama and sets up future chapters. Hopefully I'll be able to update this one again soon, since I really like this story idea and had plans for it to be epic. Maybe I should stop planning for things to be epic. That usually backfires ^_^'_

* * *

Chapter 3

Spree

"Why are we here again?" Blossom asked Ace as the girls and the gang walked around the mall.

"I told ya kid, yous three need a new look," Ace explained, "Pretty dresses and bows don't say _Gangreen Gang_. They say tea parties and perfect attendance."

The other guys snickered, and Blossom and Buttercup scowled at the remark. Bubbles was still nervous about being around the citizens of Townsville, so she stayed close to Big Billy since he was the strongest and could protect her. In truth she could beat up anyone she wanted, but the thought never crossed Bubbles' mind.

"Hey, how about that store, Ace?" Arturo asked as he pointed to a clothing shop with mohawked mannequins.

"Thrash's Threads. Perfect," Ace nodded approvingly.

"I hates clothess shopping," Snake complained, "Can't we get sssome churrosss and let thems shop?"

"Knowin' the powderpuffs they'll walk out with somethin' even girlier than what they're already wearin'," Ace told him, "Now let's move."

The gang then walked into the punk clothing store and immediately started pulling things off mannequins and hangers. The bored teenager manning the cash register didn't even glance up at the chaos going on around her. Once the gang had found some tough looking things they dumped their selections in a big pile by the dressing rooms and gestured for the girls to come over.

"Alright ladies, you try these on. The boys and I are goin' to that kiosk that sells those pancake wrapped corn dogs," Ace announced, "You meet us there, and ya better not look like a bunch of babies when next we see yous."

"We won't," Blossom promised.

"Yeah, _sure_ ," Ace replied skeptically, "Oh, and don't take too long."

"And don't pay for anything," Arturo reminded them, "That's how chumps deal with things."

"We won't," Bubbles told him as she waved goodbye.

The boys left the store, and the girls started digging through the pile of grunge clothes. Bubbles pulled out a denim vest and stuck her tongue out in disgust while Buttercup adjusted a black biker hat with a silver chain rim on her head.

"I like my old dress better than these clothes," Bubbles complained softly, "Why can't we just dress like us?"

"These are the clothes we wore when we lived with the professor," Buttercup explained, "New life, new outfits. Just like on TV."

"It'll be fine, Bubbles," Blossom assured her, "They just want us to look older. That'll make the town respect us more."

As Blossom said this Bubbles held up a pair of tiny pleather shorts and winced. _Respect_ didn't seem like the right word to use in this situation, but if this was what it took to make Ace happy then she would just plow through the experience and hope for the best.

"How about this?" Buttercup asked as she handed Bubbles some black leggings, "Black always looks powerful and dark."

"Thanks, but I don't like black clothes," Bubbles replied, "Hm, maybe this white t-shirt that says 'You Wanna Piece of Me?'. It has a picture of a cake. I like cake."

"Eh, good enough," Buttercup replied dismissively, "I'm gonna try on this leather jacket! It has a picture of a skull on the back."

After a few more minutes of searching the girls each took back a few things to try on. Buttercup was excited to get to look more tough, Bubbles just wanted this so-called shopping trip to be over, and Blossom felt conflicted about the situation. On the one hand she knew this was a step toward becoming more like the rest of the Gangreen Gang, but on the other hand she felt like she was just faking. She was used to being the leader and speaking for the girls, but Ace was their leader now and she got the feeling he didn't like her very much. She didn't think an outfit would be enough to change his opinion of her, but she hoped it would be a start.

When the girls left the dressing room they were barely recognizable. Buttercup wore a black leather jacket, a black hat, and black leggings with black boots. Blossom wore a denim vest with a pink shirt, jeans, and sneakers. Her red bow was gone, and she felt naked without it. Bubbles looked the most normal with the cake t-shirt, a blue denim skirt, and her regular shoes and socks.

"Think this is good enough?" Blossom asked the others.

"Are you kidding? We look awesome!" Buttercup declared proudly.

"Well, at least the new clothes feel cleaner than our old ones," Bubbles added timidly, "Where are the guys again?"

"Corn dog kiosk," Buttercup reminded her, "Let's go!"

The girls started to run out of the store, but then the cashier blandly shouted "Hey! You bug-eyed freaks can't just take that stuff. You have to pay for it or whatever."

The girls stopped in their tracks and slowly turned back to look at the acne faced teen that stopped them. Buttercup scowled and walked up to the checkout counter menacingly.

"Do you know who we are, lady?" Buttercup asked petulantly, and then smashed the counter in half with her fist, "We're the Gangreen Gang!"

The clerk could only blink in surprise as her counter lay in ruins and the girls stalked away.

"That was mean," Bubbles admonished Buttercup.

"No, that was following orders," Buttercup replied unapologetically, "Arturo said don't pay for anything. Only chumps pay, and we're not chumps. We're the Gangreen Gang and we can do whatever we want."

"Does that mean we can go to the candy store?" Bubbles asked hopefully, "I'm hungry."

"Good idea. We'll run it by Ace," Buttercup replied casually as she started walking ahead of the other two girls.

Blossom watched Buttercup strut off and she realized her fears were coming true. She wasn't the leader anymore. In fact, she wasn't even leader of her own sisters anymore. Buttercup was taking her place, and she didn't know what to do about it in a world that valued brawn over brains.

* * *

Jojo and the professor had been working in the transmogrifier machine all night and most of the morning. Jojo didn't even want to sleep since he was so in the zone, but he noticed the professor was starting to slow down. In fact, Professor Utonium had been sighing and barely working for over two hours.

"You should get some sleep, Professor," Jojo suggested, "Resting allows the brain to rejuvenate and collect itself during the state of sleep most commonly known as REM sleep. This can only be achieved after two to three hours of unconsciousness, and in order for you to obtain said sleep you need to be unconscious. So, I urge you to _go to bed_."

"I'm alright, Jojo," The professor replied wearily, "I'm just...worried about the girls. I don't feel like I should be in a lab working when my girls are still out there. That awful gang could have hurt them, or if they got away that means they're still lost. I can't just abandon them like this. I'm their father."

Jojo growled under his breath low enough that the professor couldn't hear him. He hated this. Jojo knew those girls were nothing more than a nuisance; just another byproduct of careless human society. He just wanted to finish his invention so he could free his ape brethren from the confines of ignorance. If he couldn't keep the professor focused the process would take far too long. He needed to find a way to get the professor to stop thinking about the girls.

"I'm going to go look for them," The professor proclaimed; derailing Jojo's plans, "I'll be back when I find them."

"Wait!" Jojo shouted, "You cannot go out there alone."

"Then you'll come with me?" Professor asked, and Jojo stammered incoherently as he tried to think of something to say to get out of this, "Thank you, Jojo. Together I'm sure we can find them."

"Oh, well, uh...fine," Jojo finally conceded, "Let me go get my coat."

"I've been meaning to ask you Jojo," The professor said as Jojo put on his coat, "Why do you wear a grocery bag on your head? Is it a chimp thing?"

"My brain is exposed," Jojo replied and then lifted the bag to show the shocked professor, "It is a result of exposure to the chemical X. I was closer to the pot than you were, so I suffered the greater impact from the explosion."

"Oh my gosh! Jojo, I'm so sorry," The professor replied sorrowfully.

"It was ultimately a good thing," Jojo told him sagely, "I am smarter and more self-reliant. I think clearer than I ever have before, and I am better able to express how I view the world. I would not take it back, even though there are unfortunate side effects."

"I can construct a helmet that will protect your head better," The professor offered.

"I already have a design in mind, but I thank you for your concern," Jojo replied dismissively, "Now, let's hurry up and find the girls so we can get back to my invention."

"Oh, um, okay," Professor replied uncertainly, not sure how to interpret Jojo's seemingly cold attitude toward him, "You can direct me to where you last saw them. Do you remember?"

"Of course I do," Jojo stated haughtily, "It was near the wreckage of where the girls destroyed the center of Townsville."

The professor winced at Jojo's glib description. He didn't like thinking about the destructive nature of his perfect little girls. He had tried so hard in their short time together to teach them right from wrong and to show them love. For so long all the professor had ever wanted was a family of his own, but now that dream was turning into a nightmare. He had scarred his young chimp for life, he had created destructive little girls that had hurt a lot of people, he had been thrown in jail, and now he had allowed an incredible power to fall into the hands of the Gangreen Gang.

The professor's thoughts remained in this grim loop as they searched for the girls. As he drove along the detours and bumpy roads he couldn't help but blame himself for everything that had gone so wrong.

"Professor," Jojo called out to him, "You are sighing again."

"Huh? Oh, sorry Jojo," Professor replied distractedly, "Um, Jojo? I know chimpanzees live in troupes with at least a couple dozen members. Do you remember anything about your old life?"

"Vaguely," Jojo shrugged, "I was an infant when the poachers came. I mostly just remember being snatched away from my mother and forced into a cage. After that I mostly just remember the market where I was on display, and then you getting me out of there. Why do you ask?"

"I just wonder what you think about family," The professor replied, "It's not every day that someone gets the chance to ask a chimp how they see the world. What do you think of when you think of family?"

"Not much," Jojo replied bluntly, "I was too young. The closest thing I have to a family is..."

The professor waited to hear Jojo's reply, but Jojo had stopped talking. He glanced over to the passenger seat to make sure Jojo was okay, and the green and black chimp was just staring out the window with a forlorn expression on his face.

"Jojo?" Professor ventured cautiously, "Are you okay?"

"What do you think of me?" Jojo asked quietly, "You yell a lot, and you seem more concerned with the girls than with me. Tell me, what am I to you?"

"What do you mean? You're Jojo," The professor replied evasively.

"Am I just a project to you?" Jojo asked accusingly, "I am no longer a simple simian, Professor. I know humans think of other animals as inferior to them. I am sure I am nothing more than a house pet to you, and now that you have the girls you don't need me anymore. I mean nothing to you."

"That's not true, Jojo!" The professor protested, "I always thought of you as more of a lab assistant than a pet. Sure, you weren't always _good_ at your job, but you're still young. I do care about you, and while I know life hasn't always been easy for either of us I'm not sorry I brought you home."

"A lab assistant, huh?" Jojo asked without infection, "So you just wanted a worker. Typical."

"That's not what I meant!" Professor argued, "Jojo, the reason I rescued you is because I..."

"Because you _what_?" Jojo snapped impatiently.

"Because I don't have anyone else in my life," Professor admitted, "I always thought by this point in my life I would have a family. My parents died a while back, I don't have any siblings or other relatives I keep close ties with, and I never met the right woman to settle down with. I always wanted a family of my own, but work has kept me busy for most of my adult life. I work from home, so I'm pretty isolated from the rest of the community. I just...I just wanted someone around that I could care about. Someone that would notice if I was gone and be happy to see me when I came back. I know I haven't always shown it Jojo, but you're the closest thing I have to a son. I guess that's pretty weird, but I'm used to being different."

"Me too," Jojo replied with an amused smile, "A monkey with a giant exposed brain is about as different as it gets."

The professor laughed along with Jojo, and then Jojo pointed for the professor to turn left.

It took a half hour to get to the alley where Jojo had last seen the girls, and of course there was no sign of them or anyone else there anymore. They would have to look elsewhere for the girls, and the professor was willing to search all over Townsville if he had to. The strange part though was that now Jojo didn't feel as jealous about it as he had before. He felt like he understood where the professor was coming from, and he finally had confirmation that he too was considered a valuable part of the family.

* * *

The Gangreen Gang and their new secret weapons had completely trashed the mall. It had all started with the candy store when the eight unruly gangsters had all gotten buzzed on sugar, and then they moved on to the other stores. They raided the food court, they robbed the jewelry store, and they played around in the fountain until the water had turned brown from their general filth.

When they went to get out they all realized Big Billy got stuck in the fountain, and the others laughed as he tried to get his big caboose loose.

"D'aww...Billy need help! Help Billy!" Big Billy whined.

"But how?" Bubbles asked.

Once they'd had their fun the gang gathered round and pondered how to get Billy out of the situation he was in.

"We could get sssome butter," Snake suggested, "That'sss how we got Grubber'sss head out of that gate."

"Pfft!" Grubber protested, saying he wasn't really stuck that time.

"Just break the stone, Billy," Ace told him.

"Duh...Billy can't," Billy replied after trying a few test pulls on the structure.

"Oh come on, it can't be that hard!" Buttercup scoffed.

She then went up to the fountain and karate kicked it. The fountain cracked and then the part that held Billy broke in two. Billy cheered and lifted up Buttercup to his shoulders to celebrate, and the other gang members (except the girls) were left dumbstruck by what they had just witnessed. They knew the girls had powers like flying and stuff, but this was a new level of awesome. The moment of shock and celebration was swiftly interrupted, however.

"Hold it right there, Gangreen Gang!" A masculine voice shouted at them, and they all turned around to see a team of police officers blocking their exit from the mall, "You and your little bug-eyed freaks just stay right there, and don't make any sudden moves. You're all under arrest."

"Hey girls," Ace muttered to them so the cops couldn't hear him, "Think you can take 'em?"

"No duh," Buttercup replied smugly.

"Who are they?" Bubbles asked, unfamiliar with the concept of law enforcement.

"Bad dudes," Ace told her, "They lock you up in a cage with a hard flat mattress, cold concrete walls, and a toilet with no door so everybody can see you when you pee."

Bubbles gasped, thinking that was the worst thing ever.

"Let's get 'em, girls," Bubbles whispered with resolve.

The cops waited nervously to see what the gang and the girls would do next. They knew they had to apprehend those little monsters before they took over Townsville and wrecked everything. The Gangreen Gang was also no small prize, as they had been the premiere street gang in Townsville for the past 3 years. The police, normally cowed and apathetic, felt they had a purpose now and were determined to capture these troublemakers.

The girls stepped forward, and the cops all raised their guns in case they needed to fire. Quick as a flash however, Blossom zipped by them and used her laser vision to snap the barrels of the guns clean off! While the cops were looking down at their guns in shock, Bubbles and Buttercup swooped in and started beating them all up! With the cops no longer armed the rest of the gang also joined in and beat up the police along with the girls.

It was all over in less than two minutes. The police were battered, bruised, and unconscious on the ground. The gang was victorious, and the eight of them left without even looking back at their would-be captors turned victims.

"That was incredible, girls!" Ace exclaimed triumphantly, "Looks like the powderpuffs we met before are long gone now."

"Yeah, did you see me when I bashed that guy?" Buttercup asked excitedly, "I was all Bam! Punch! Pow! Are you proud of us, Ace?"

"Proud? I'm ecstatic!" Ace replied, "With my trainin' and your bashin', we're gonna rule Townsville!"


	4. Epiphany

_Author's Notes: I meant to have this chapter out way before now, so to those of you who had been waiting I thank you for your patience. For some reason lately I've just felt really inspired to write The Powerpuff Girls, so it's a good time to come back to this fic. I'm just sorry this chapter is so short, but that was just how the flow worked this time. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy this chapter of "Greentown" :)_

* * *

Chapter 4

Epiphany

For the next few days the Gangreen Gang just hung out at the dump and did mostly nothing of interest. The teens and toddlers had all the time in the world and no one would dare encroach on their territory with all 8 of them guarding it. Their days consisted of mostly goofing off at the dump, walking around looking for little kids to torment, and testing out the girls' superpowers to see just how much damage they could do and how much punishment they could take.

They had some snack cakes left in the broken fridge they kept in their clubhouse and decided to have those for breakfast instead of going out to look for a real breakfast. Besides, in Townsville there weren't very many places that would serve breakfast at 2:00 PM. Big Billy of course complained that there wasn't enough to eat, and while he wasn't wrong the answer from Ace was still to just shut up and eat the freaking snack cake.

The girls' new outfits were already getting dirty since they had bought them, and by now all three of them smelled just as putrid as the rest of the gang. They were quite literally the scum of the earth, but they weren't as upset about that as before. At least they got junk food and acceptance out of the deal. Buttercup especially thrived in this new environment, and even Bubbles was learning how to enjoy holding power over weaker kids. Blossom was jealous of how much attention Buttercup got, and she compensated mostly by going out of her way to make Ace happy. Buttercup noticed, and would usually respond to Blossom's actions by calling her a brown nose and laughing at Blossom's peeved expression.

For the moment though everyone was having fun eating their processed pastries. Well, they were, until...

"Ows!" Snake suddenly exclaimed after taking a bite out of a peanut butter bar.

"Are you okay, Snake?" Blossom asked.

"Jussst my tooths," Snake replied as he rubbed his jaw, "It'sss cracked. Turf war a few weeksss ago."

"Can you fix it, Ace?" Bubbles innocently asked their leader.

"Nah, but don't worry. It'll fall out on its own," Ace shrugged, "Or get infected. Either way."

"Can a doctor fix it?" Buttercup asked curiously.

"Nah, man. It has to be a dentist," Arturo explained, "They're like doctors, but they only work on teeth and don't get paid as well. So, basically they're loser doctors. We can't afford one though, so Snake'll just have to tough it out. Last year Grubber lost four teeth, but he still eats just fine. Just swallows the food whole now."

"Pfftpfpft!" Grubber pointed out.

"Yeah, then he'd be just like a real snake," Ace chuckled at Grubber's observation.

"Shut ups!" Snake hissed irritably, "I jusst need sssome warm water. Then I can eats."

"No way!" Buttercup suddenly snapped, "Ace, we're the Gangreen Gang! We rule! If we tell a dentist to fix Snake, then they have to fix Snake! If they don't fix Snake, then we pound 'em and find someone else! Come on, boss! We can do this!"

"Hm...Never thought of it like that, but you have a point," Ace pondered as he stroked his chin, "Alright, alright. We'll try it your way, this time. If we get shot or somethin' though, it's all your fault."

"Deal," Buttercup replied gamely, "Now let's go find us a dentist!"

With those words the gang left the hideout, but then a moment later Billy rushed back inside just long enough to grab everyone's leftover snacks. Then he rushed back out to catch up with the gang as they made their way into the city.

* * *

Professor Utonium and Jojo were out searching for the girls, and their journey brought them to the Townsville Zoo. Jojo scowled and shuddered at the same time when he walked through this place. He was still wearing his trench coat and the bag on his head, but he feared it wouldn't be enough to disguise him from all these prying human eyes. If he ended up in one of these cages he didn't know what he would do.

"Come on, Jojo. We need to hand out these flyers," The professor urged Jojo, "I just hope someone has seen the girls recently. Who knows what could be happening to them right now!"

Jojo sighed and then grumbled as he took the flyers from the professor. They were missing posters with a picture of the girls and the professor's phone number. Jojo felt this was a waste of time, but the miserable look on Utonium's face was enough to convince Jojo that he should at least try to be supportive.

The professor went to the meerkat exhibit and passed out a few flyers to some people passing by. He went to the hippo enclosure, the gazelle enclosure, and the aquarium. Jojo went to the lion exhibit, tiger exhibit, and basically everywhere in the big cat district. Naturally, people were more willing to take flyers from the professor. Everyone assumed Jojo was some diseased bum, not realizing he was in fact a talking chimpanzee.

As Jojo was starting to get tired of the fruitless search he passed by the entrance to another section of the zoo...Primate Plaza. This was where the monkeys and apes were housed, and even though Jojo feared what he would find in there he felt compelled to go inside. He had to see how the humans were treating his oppressed simian brethren.

He saw many different species of primates in cages and enclosures. It seemed the bigger apes got better living environments. The orangutan and gorilla had an almost decent living space, but the smaller species of monkeys were crowded together in big cages and were screaming incoherently. Jojo looked upon them with pity and sorrow. This world was just as much theirs as it was the humans'. Why did they deserve such unjust treatment? Just for being born less intelligent?

Jojo's sorrow turned to anger as he ventured further into the plaza. He stopped when he saw a sign showing the evolution of man. Jojo had recently taught himself to read, so was well aware of what each photo said. The first was a monkey with the word Worthless under it. As the pictures morphed from monkeys to hominids to eventually humans the words went from things like Lame, Stupid, and Okay to the words Better, Almost, and Awesome when it finally got to the man in the business suit.

Jojo growled at the poster. Humans were so simple-minded. This was not a photo of progress, but rather a depiction of a caste system based on nothing but the intelligent and greedy subjugating the simple-minded and uninspired. That so-called _Worthless_ monkey at the left end of the picture was not some fossil from a bygone era. Monkeys were still alive, and their worth was judged by humans based on their ability to amuse their hairless overlords.

How he hated this unfair meritocratic system that oppressed his species and many others like his own. If he had the chance to force the humans to the ground and crush them under his might and his intellect, oh the things he could do to them! He pictured a man kneeling before him, bruised, begging for his mercy, daring with his dying breaths to utter the name-

"Jojo?"

Jojo was forced out of his fantasy and looked up to see the professor looking down at him, a concerned expression on his face.

"Jojo, is everything alright? You look upset," Professor asked in a soft comforting tone of voice.

"I am just...worried about the girls, Professor," Jojo lied.

"So am I, but we can't give up," Professor replied, his tone a mixture of sadness and hope, "Come on, Jojo. Let's get out of here. We can try the supermarket next."

Jojo reluctantly gave the professor his hand so he could be led away, his face downcast and darkened by shadows as his rage-filled thoughts resurfaced. He would not forget this primate prison. Soon he would help these oppressed animals take their revenge on mankind. Everyone who ever abused them would suffer. Just as Jojo and the professor were about to go however, the professor got a look at the evolution poster.

"Oh, now really! This is what qualifies as educational material nowadays? I know what they're going for, but that's just mean spirited and inaccurate," Professor huffed when he read the sign, "If the homo erectus was stupid, then why was he able to use tools? And worthless? That is an ateles chamek, and if this place really wanted to teach the kids about the subject of zoology they would at least caption the name at the bottom of the picture. I don't know what comedian they hired to write this thing, but it's not educational in the slightest."

The professor continued to walk with Jojo as his mind already forgot what he saw, unaware of just how impactful his words had been to his simian companion. Jojo looked up at the professor with a renewed measure of respect. The professor actually cared. He knew the value of Jojo's simian brothers, and of Jojo himself. Perhaps not all humans were evil. Perhaps there might even be something worth redeeming in Townsville, if only they had someone to guide them toward the care and empathy they needed to make their society function better...

* * *

The Gangreen Gang made it to a children's dentist office (since Billy and the girls wanted free toys), and the receptionist nervously told them they would have to wait to see the dentist since they didn't have an appointment. After twenty minutes of sitting there and waiting, the gang was getting bored.

"Maybe we should jussst go homes," Snake muttered softly in the quiet waiting room, "My tooth isss much betters."

"No it ain't. I can see you poking it with yer tongue," Ace called him out, "Look, this is gettin' ridiculous. We should just bust in and _make_ him see us."

"But what if he's working on a patient and it's all bloody and gross?" Bubbles asked in alarm.

"Get used to it, powderpuff," Ace retorted, "You're a member of the Gangreen Gang. Blood's just another part of life."

Bubbles moaned miserably at that response, and Blossom patted her on the back to comfort her. There was still so much the girls didn't know, and Ace was proving to be a harsh yet willing teacher.

"That's it! I'm bored!" Buttercup suddenly cried out before bursting out of her seat and crashing her body against the door; breaking it.

The rest of the gang followed Buttercup through the improvised entrance and searched the offices until they found the dentist, who was helping a young boy out of the chair and giving him a bag full of free tooth care items.

"Hey, doc!" Ace yelled, and the little boy hid under the chair when seeing the leader of the Gangreen Gang.

"Um, yes. Are you little Susie Smith's father?" The kindly dentist asked.

"I got yer Susie Smith right here!" Ace said as he brandished his fist, "Here's what's gonna happen. Snake is gonna sit in that chair, you're gonna pull out his rotten tooth, we're gonna leave, and you're gonna forget you ever saw us. Otherwise, we're gonna wreck the joint."

The dentist gulped and shakily gestured for Snake to come in. Snake shuffled inside, and glared down menacingly at the little boy still hiding under the chair. The boy screamed and hid inside a cabinet since the exit was blocked by the rest of the gang.

The dentist was naturally afraid for his life, but he did his best to calm his nerves so that he wouldn't mess up the inside of Snake's mouth. Bubbles was moaning in discomfort at having to watch the operation take place, so Arturo led her out of the room and back to the reception area to find some toys. Snake was also nervous, as he had never been to a dentist before. When the dentist's assistant came toward him with the tiny water sprayer Snake tried to get up and leave, but the dentist gently pushed him back down.

"It's alright, she's just going to clean your teeth before we numb your gums," The dentist assured Snake, "Everything is going to be alright."

"Your not gonna jack up my tooths, are yous?" Snake asked suspiciously.

"Of course not," The dentist replied in offense, "I take care of my patients, even if I don't like them."

"That's good to hear," Ace replied smarmily, "Cause if anything goes wrong with Snake's teeth I'm blamin' you, and then I'm siccin' the girls on you."

To demonstrate Buttercup used her heat vision on the ground and bored a hole into the tile floor. The dentist's assistant gasped in fear, and the dentist had to work very hard to not do the same.

"Um, Snake, was it?" The dentist asked, and Snake gave a thumbs up since he couldn't nod due to trying to hold still and keep his mouth open, "Your tooth is chipped, but it's still healthy enough to save. I'm going to put a filling on instead of removing it. Don't worry, this won't take too long. You'll be numb for a few hours, but afterward everything should be just fine."

It took 45 minutes of cleaning, numbing, and drilling, but after everything was said and done Snake's chipped tooth had been filled in and his mouth felt cleaner than it ever had before. The gang laughed when he tried to talk though, because a snake's tongue combined with a numb mouth made for a sorry combination.

The gang left the room, and the dentist knew he wasn't going to get paid. The little boy who had been hiding finally poked his head out of the cabinet and was able to leave at last.

Back outside the gang was walking back to the dump after a successful trip to the dentist. Big Billy was carrying the entire chest of free toys, and everyone was laughing at getting away with muscling the dentist out of free service.

"Man, that was great!" Ace cackled, "You girls are the best thing to happen to the gang since we built the clubhouse. With yous around we can take whatever we want, get away with whatever we want, and do whatever we want!"

"Didn't we already do that?" Arturo pointed out.

"Yeah but this is different," Ace replied, "Before we was able to rule the streets of Townsville, but now that the gang is eight strong I'm thinkin' we try for more. I'm thinkin' we take over Townsville proper like, and rule over these stooges like kings and queens!"

"You mean-?" Blossom started to ask.

"That's right! I'm talkin' city hall!" Ace exclaimed with a malicious grin, "I'm talkin' we kick out the mayor and take over Townsville! We could rule everything, and get whatever we want."

"You mean we could control the police?" Arturo asked hopefully.

"And have our own rooms?" Billy added.

"And have anyone we don't like beat up and arrested?" Buttercup added excitedly.

"Pffpfft?" Grubber asked.

"Yeah, all of that!" Ace grinned, "The Gangreen Gang is now officially the strongest gang in Townsville, and I think it's time we let the world know who's boss."


End file.
